Letter to the Sports Editor
HEAVEN forbid, but the administration of cricket in Guyana at the national level cannot get any worse than it is at the moment.
The administration of the game seems to be stumbling from one problem to a next and seems to be more interested in the settling of personal vendetta than the development of the game and new talents. The sacking of Ramnaresh Sarwan, one of our greatest cricketing heroes, for no proper reasons, has now been, followed by some strange selection of awardees at the GCB 2012 Awards Ceremony.
The awardees for the national female cricketer-of-the-year and the club-of-the-year are clear signs that the GCB would not honour those who deserve it but rather those with whom they are comfortable.
The RHTY&SC has nothing to prove to anyone as our work over the years has not only cemented our place as the best in Guyana, but has also made a positive difference in cricket at the Berbice and national level and this is a fact that no one can dispute.
The nation of Guyana needs to be aware of the work of the GCB and the selection of Subrina Munroe as female cricketer-of-the-year instead of Shemaine Campbelle and the Demerara Cricket Club over the RHTY&SC as Club-of-the-Year is simply unbelievable.
The RHTY&SC is fully aware that the Chairman of the GCB Cricket Development Committee had recommended Ms Campbelle and the RHTY&SC for the two awards but certain GCB officials at the board meeting on Saturday, December 10, 2011, rejected the recommendations. It is widely known that the President of the RHTY&SC is also the President of the Berbice Cricket Board while the club Secretary/CEO is also an active member of Guyana’s best organised cricket organisation.
The BCB has not recognised the GCB and as such, vendetta is the game. The GCB meeting almost turned ugly with two senior executives involved in a heated argument on December 10, 2011 over the award ceremony and its organising.
Here are the facts for the cricket public of Guyana to judge on the two awards.
Shemaine Campbelle was captain of the Berbice and Guyana female teams. In the only female cricket tournament played in Guyana at the club level in Guyana, Campbelle scored 212 runs in three matches in the BCB Millie Lewis Tournament including a century.
She also took 10 wickets at an average of 2.5 at the inter-country level, she scored a century versus Essequibo and also did well with her bowling. As captain of Guyana female team, she also did reasonably well with both bat and ball.
At the international level, Campbelle toured with the West Indies in each series and represented the region in over 90% of the matches and did well with her lower-order batting, medium pace and leg-spin bowling and for good measures, even kept wicket sometimes for the West Indies.
Munroe in contrast has not impressed with both bat and ball and has not even scored a combined 100 runs or taken ten wickets with her fast bowling at all levels. She only turned up for one match out of three in the Berbice Female Championship, did not impress for Guyana and played less than 10% of the matches played by the West Indies female team. To compare Campbelle’s performance to Munroe is like comparing Cheese to Chalk.
2. There has been talk about indiscipline costing Campbelle the award but the RHTY&SC, which placed a great emphasis on discipline, would like to place on record that we have never had a discipline problem with Campbelle in her five-year membership and is in fact, one of our most disciplined, committed and hardworking members. She serves as our Assistant Organising Secretary due to our membership confidence in her. We would also like to clearly state that Ms Campbelle has never been sanctioned by the BCB, GCB or WICB for any action and as such, can never be accused of indiscipline or denied an award on such grounds.
3. The performance of the cricket teams of the RHTY&SC is unmatched in Guyana with all seven cricket teams only losing one match for the entire 2012. The only cricket match the RHTY&SC lost this year has been at the Under-19 level versus Albion in the Spready’s Under-19 final. The Under-15, Under-17, Female, Second and First Division teams have all played unbeaten and in the process won the Tenelec Under-15 tournament, Millie Lewis Female, Universal DVD 20/20 Tournament, Ramcharitar 50 Overs, Busta Championship of Championships, the New Amsterdam Lions Club 20/20 and the GUYWID 20/20. We were also the runners-up of the Spready’s Under-19 Tournament and to date, have reached the quarterfinals of the NBS Second Division and Ameerally Sawmills Under-17 Tournaments. A total of fifteen of our junior cricketers represented Lower Corentyne in the BCB Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 Tournaments. The RHT Gizmos and Gadgets Team are also at the top of the Tenelec 50 Overs Tournament.
4. The following RHTY&SC players represent Berbice at the different levels in GCB tournaments: Under-15 – Arif Chan, Daniel Lewis, Vierinda Gooniah and Nicholar Cameron; Under-17 – V. Gooniah, Shailendra Shameer, Arif Chan, N. Cameron and Daniel Lewis; Under-19 – Lloydel Lewis, Clinton Pestano, Dominic Rikhi, Shawn Pereira, Vidal Crandon and S. Hardyal; Females – Shemaine Campbelle, Erva Giddings, Nikita Toney, Plaffina Millington, Trieshna Cort, Meliane Henry, Shenella McBean, Cindy Alexander and Jackie Singh.  At the senior level for Berbice – Assad Fudadin, Royston and Esaun Crandon, Rajiv Ivan, Clinton Pestano and Shawn Pereira, played while in the GCB 20/20 Tournament, an unbelievable nine RHYT&SC members took part and they were: Fudadin, the Crandons, Ivan, Eon Hooper, Pestano, Jason Sinclair, Delbert Hicks, Renwick Batson and Shawn Pereira.
5. The following RHTY&SC members played or were selected to represent Guyana at the junior, female or senior level – Arif Chan, Shailendra Shameer, Lloydel Lewis, Dominic Rikhi, Clinton Pestano, Shemaine Campbelle, Erva Giddings, Trieshna Cort, Plaffina Millington, Nikita Toney, Assad Fudadin, Esaun Crandon, Royston Crandon and Rajiv Ivan. In addition, Nicholas Cameron was an Under-15 standby, Jackie Singh a female standby, while Pestano and Hooper were standbys for the senior national teams. To note, DCC does not have a female team.
6. Assad Fudadin captained the Berbice and Guyana senior teams, Royston Crandon captained Guyana vs. Trinidad in 20/20 matches, Shemaine Campbelle captained the Berbice and Guyana female teams, Shawn Pereira captained the Berbice Under-19 team.
7. Assad Fudadin represented the West Indies ‘A’ team while Shemaine Campbelle toured with the West Indies female on all their tours.
8. The RHTY&SC organised an unmatched and record-breaking 125 of the field activities with the cricket teams organising 60 of them. Under the 60 cricket teams programme a total of $10 000 000 worth of assistance was given to Berbice sportsmen, schools, NGOs, cricket and sports club among others. These include educational scholarships, sport gear, sports uniforms and footwear for students.
9. Our cricket teams in 2011 as part of their developmental programme hosted a  highly successful 16th annual cricket academy, 20th annual awards (over $2.5M prizes shared out), monthly television programme, annual youth magazine, twelve cricket clinics, essay and poster competitions, educational summer camp and the construction of two large anti-drugs billboards with RHTY&SC members.
10. Among the numerous programmes hosted by the RHTY&SC cricket teams in 2011 are: Lower Corentyne Outstanding Students Awards, Scotiabank Tribute to Teacher, Patricia Moniz Educational Fund, Tribute to Heroes, Tribute to Retired Teachers, Tribute to Head Teachers, Zara Apartment, Region 6 Educational Awards and the Lower Corentyne Mash Parade.
11. The cricket teams of the RHTY&SC, while enjoying their own success on the cricket field, have committed themselves to assisting all cricket teams in Berbice and the BCB. The RHTY&SC raised over $5 000 000 in cash and materials for the Berbice Cricket Board in 2012 alone and also co-sponsored 26 major programmes of the BCB Special Events Committee.
We also donated cricket balls and equipment to 16 cricket clubs and donated millions of dollars worth of items to over 40 cricket clubs to assist them to expand. Our cricketers also raised $1M to assist four children to undergo medical operations.
12. Mr Editor, the record of the RHTY&SC in 2011 can only be described as unbelievable and we remain, along with the Berbice Cricket Board, the only shining light in Guyana’s dark cricketing circle. DCC is our sister club and we respect them very highly but the RHTY&SC’s record of achievement on and off the cricket field is far superior  to any other club in Guyana and deserves to be named club-of-the-year 2011.
We would like to challenge any cricket official to release the complete record of the DCC and let the general public of Guyana decide. At the last GCB awards ceremony in 2010, it was announced that performance on the cricket field, members playing for country, country and the West Indies, female cricket and development, overall cricket development and outreach programmes would be the guidelines to select the Club-of-the-Year.
The RHTY&SC does not work for medals, trophies or honour, but to make a positive difference but if we deserve such an award we should not be denied it because of personal vendetta. We have already won the award in 2004, 2005, 2009 and 2010 and to be denied it for the fifth time is hurtful but we would strive to be more successful in 2012 as “who God bless no other can stop”.
The list of the GCB list is getting lower everyday – first it was the sacking of Carl Moore, the removal of Mark Harper, the dismissal of the BCB administrator, the removal of coach Hubern Evans over a rubber slipper, the Ramnaresh Sarwan saga, the disorganised 20/20 tournament, and the list can go on.
The time has come for the Government of Guyana, the political opposition and all cricket-loving people in Guyana to act now to save our cricket in Guyana before it is too late. In 2011, we had no four-day inter-county tournament, no 20/20 inter-county tournament, no school tournament, no female inter-club tournament, no 40 or 50 overs first  division national club tournament or even a cricket academy.
In Berbice, the progress done by the BCB has transformed cricket in the ancient county and it is a shame that the same cannot be done at the national level. (RHTY&SC Public Relations Department)